Profile 2: Roberta "Bobbie" Jackson

Favorite Color: Red

Favorite Artist: Claude Monet

Favorite Movie: "North by Northwest" directed by Alfred Hitchcock

Favorite Band: Glenn Miller, Big Band Music

Favorite Song: None

Roberta "Bobbie" Jackson is an active 81 year old artist that paints in a realist style; mostly using photos to glean her subjects. However-she does NOT want her works to be too perfect; she DOESN'T want them to look exactly like a photograph.

Bobbie began painting in 1981 after her family was grown by taking an adult education class in oil painting given at Peru High School by Norma Berry, a local artist. She continued taking classes when J.O. Buffington, another local artist, took over teaching adult education classes; starting with oil painting and then switching to watercolor. Watercolor is now her favorite medium.

She was born in St. Louis, but grew up in Chicago where she met her husband of almost 62 years, Bill(now deceased) at a college basketball game. They were married in 1946, moved to Peru in 1948 and raised a family of 4 children; 3 daughters and 1 son. One daughter and her son live in California, one daughter lives in Colorado, and her other daughter, Linda; also a Community Artists Co-Op member, lives here in Peru.

Bobbie worked at American Trust(formerly Peru Federal Savings and Loan) for over 30 years. Her husband worked at the Peru Tribune and was one of our former mayors.

I believe Bobbie may have inherited some of her artistic talent as her mother was also an artist, as is her brother. Bobbie owns several oil paintings done by her mother from the 1913 time period. Her mother; like she herself, waited till her children were grown to return to painting. Roberta says that she felt intimidated by her mother and brother's painting ability, but from the works she has displayed at Cafe Du Cirque she needn't have doubted herself; she is gifted with skill.

Bobbie was just elected to our Community Artists Co-Op board of directors and is also a member of the Art Collection Advisory Board, also of Peru. Her duties there are to ensure the collection of artworks owned by the Peru High School(among them a Picasso) is cleaned, maintained properly, and oversees their display. She says they have one of the best high school collections in the whole country.

I hope in the near future to give you a better view of her works because they are worth seeing.

Thank you Bobbie for being a part of our group.